Various types of engine designs have been developed over the years. The most common engine is the conventional reciprocating piston internal combustion engine (IC engine) in which a reciprocating piston is coupled by a connecting rod to the offset crank pins of a crankshaft. The reciprocating motion of the pistons is translated to rotary motion at the crank shaft. Power is delivered by the crank shaft to the driven device such as a vehicle or in stationary application to a pump or other device.
A wide variety of alternate engine designs have been developed over the years in attempts to improve upon the basic engine design described above. These devices may change the cycle dynamics of the engine. One example is the Wankel engine which was originally developed in Germany and has been utilized in various operating environments including automobiles such as the Mazda®.
Another prior design employ a scotch yoke. While scotch yoke designs provide a means of converting the reciprocating linear piston motion to rotary motion, practical problems have developed including vibration, excessive frictional losses and excessive wear.
As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,566 shows an internal combustion engine utilizing a scotch yoke type motion translator which claims improved cycle dynamics. The engine is horizontally opposed with each shuttle having a pair of pistons attached at the ends of a pair oppositely extending arms. A centrally located aperture in the shuttle accommodates the crank pin and incorporates a pair of rack blocks bolted to the shuttle. The cycle dynamics of the engine may be matched to the to the thermo dynamics of a selected power cycle and fuel by adjusting the shape of the sectors and racks.
The present invention relates to a new and novel reciprocating device which may be operated either as a combustion engine or as a compressor. As an engine, the device is highly efficient having a high power-to-weight ratio, reduced cylinder friction, reduced vibration, reduced pollution. Lubrication requirements are also minimized.
The engine design of the invention is extremely versatile and compact and allows for convenient increase in size and horsepower by addition of additional cylinders by addition of basic components with major modifications. The design utilizes fewer components than conventional IC engine designs and each cylinder has a piston with cylinder chambers disposed on opposite sides of the piston so the engine essentially “fires” every half stroke.